I'll Protect You
by Akiyotame
Summary: Tragedy struck the Toujou household and it is up to Detective Umi to solve this case.
1. Chapter 1

"I'm home~!" Nozomi called out as she closed the front door.

"Onee-chan is hoooome~" two children appeared from the hallway and ran towards Nozomi. She held out her arms and the children happily embraced her.

"Have you two been good?" Nozomi asked while patting their heads. The two children nodded joyfully. Nozomi turned towards the older one of the two, "Takumi, you took good care of Ayano while I was out, right?"

The boy smiled big and nodded, "I sure did, Nozo-nee. We had lots of fun today!"

Nozomi smiled and held the children's hands, "Where's Papa?"

"He's upstairs sleeping," Ayano replied.

Nozomi checked her wristwatch, "He must be tired from work, its only 7 o'clock." She made her way into the living room and set down her purse.

"Have the two of you had dinner yet?" She asked as she headed for the kitchen. The two shook their heads in unison, "Is there anything you two want to eat?" She asked.

The two kids looked at each other and smiled brightly, "We want hamburger steak, Nozo-nee!" They answered gleefully.

Nozomi giggled and smiled back, "Okay then, hamburger steak it is!"

The two kids cheered and ran around the room while Nozomi prepared the food. It would take a while for her to finish so she turned on the TV to occupy her time. The news was on, "...recent kidnappings have been on the rise as another family was struck with traged-"

Nozomi quickly turned the channel away to something more kid friendly for the children. Luckily there was some anime airing and that got them to calm down until Nozomi finished their dinner.

"Dinners ready!" Nozomi called out.

The two kids raced each other to the dinner table as Nozomi set up the plates, "I'll be right back," she told them.

She grabbed a single plate and walked outside of the living room and up the stairs. She arrived at the door at the end of the hallway and knocked gently, "Dad? I have dinner here for you..."

There was no response. He must have been sound asleep since work has been rough on him lately. Nozomi returned downstairs and wrapped the plate with some plastic wrap and a note before placing it on the fridge for later.

"Nozo-nee! Come eat with us!" The kids beckoned.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm coming," Nozomi responded. She took a seat next to the kids and the siblings enjoyed their dinner together.

Nozomi spent the rest of her time watching TV with the children until they fell asleep on the couch. She turned the TV off and picked up the both of them in her arms. They were sound asleep and showed no sign of waking up anytime soon. She couldn't help but smile when around Takumi and Ayano. Even though their family was going through a financial crisis and suffering from their mother's sudden abandonment, she was still able to smile because of them.

She reached their rooms and gently tucked them into bed, making sure to kiss their foreheads before leaving, "I love you guys," she whispered before turning off the light and shutting the door.

Nozomi herself went to bed after tucking the others to sleep. It was only 10 o'clock, but she needed to sleep early for her morning shift tomorrow.

Nozomi never really had a problem with sleeping early, the only thing she had trouble with was waking up in the middle of the night because of it. If she ever slept early, she would find herself awake around 2 or 3 in the morning. Tonight was another night like it, "Why does this happen to me...?" Nozomi got up out of bed and made her way downstairs. Her vision was blurry, but the worst part of waking up like this in the middle of the night was having an extremely dry throat.

She reached the bottom of the stairs and noticed a light coming from outside of the living room doorway, "...Dad?" She tiredly called out. Her voice was raspy and barely audible. She decided to keep going and take a look for herself.

Nozomi peeked into the living room to see the TV left on. It was on the news station again, "I thought I turned the TV off before going to bed." Nozomi rubbed her eyes and looked around, she spotted a man lying face down in his seat on the kitchen table.

"Dad must have fallen asleep here again..." she yawned and quietly made her way to the kitchen. Nozomi opened the dishwasher and pulled out a cup for a drink of water. The satisfaction of fulfilling her thirst lifted up her spirits and she wore a satisfied expression.

"I better wake up Dad before he catches a cold out here," she set the cup down on the counter and made her way over to her father, gently nudging against him.

"Hey Dad, wake up. You'll catch a cold if you sleep out here," her father didn't react. She noticed a circular black shadow around his head, "Was he eating dinner?"

Nozomi stepped in closer and nudged her father more aggressively, "Dad, wake u- Ahhh!" Her foot slipped and caused her to fall on her back. She felt something wet and got up immediately.

"Ugh, what is this? Juice?" It was too dark for Nozomi to see clearly. It must have fallen on the floor when her father knocked it over in his sleep.

"Geez Dad, wake up already!" Nozomi reached for the light switch and flipped it on. She firmly grasped her father and shook him roughly. She looked down and noticed a red liquid around her feet.

"Wine?" She reached down and collected some of the liquid on her finger. She gave it a whiff, "it reeks of iron..."

Nozomi started to feel her nerves acting up, "H-Hey Dad?" She pushed her father by the arm. The man slowly swayed to the right and slid off his chair, falling towards the ground. Nozomi reacted instinctively and grabbed a hold of him. Her grip slipped and left a streak of red across her father's arm. She let him land lightly and checked her hand. It was red, most likely from when she touched the liquid after falling down.

Her father didn't move, not even a sound came out of him. Now that she noticed, her father's arm was rather cold. All sense of reason immediately escaped her body and was flooded with fear. Her hand slowly approached her father's shoulder. She closed her eyes and pulled hard enough for him to lie on his back.

Nozomi slowly opened her eyes to a horrible sight and almost screamed immediately. She covered her eyes and stumbled back in disbelief, "T-Tell me this is a nightmare!" She yelled in her head. Nozomi got back up on her feet and slowly moved towards her father with her eyes focused on the wall instead of him.

"Please... just let it be my imagination..." she closed her eyes and turned her head slowly in the direction of her father. She opened them slowly and instantly started to gag. His eyes were wide open, and all you could see were the whites of his eyes. Moving lower upon inspection was a deep gash across his neck.

Nozomi ran for the kitchen sink and immediately started retching. Her mouth was filled with an acidic taste as all of her senses were overloaded. Before she knew it, she was looking at the remains of the dinner that she had cooked a few hours before. Her tastebuds were invaded with an acidic aftertaste and she fell to her knees.

"P-Ph-Phone... I have to call the Police..." Nozomi struggled to her feet and walked past her father. She turned her back and kept all of her focus on the wall in front of her. It took every ounce of her willpower to not turn around.

She made it through the living room door and into the hallway. She stumbled and held herself against the wall to keep from falling over. Just a few more steps until she can reach for the phone.

She grasped the phone and clumsily punched in the emergency number,

"Hello, this is the emergency hotline, what is your situation?"

"P-please help, my Dad, he's..."

"We're on our way ma'am," the call disconnected and Nozomi dropped the phone onto the ground. She sat with her knees against her chest until the authorities arrived.

By the time they had reached her home, the area around her eyes were painfully red. She opened the door and the house was quickly filled with policemen. They stormed the living room and were faced with the awful sight. Nozomi waited by the front door until a man appeared from the living room. He walked up to her and pulled her to the side, "What happened here?" He asked.

Nozomi avoided eye contact with the officer and stared at the ground, "I-I'm not sure... I just woke up to get a glass of water and," Nozomi began to choke on her tears again. She didn't want to think about what she saw. She didn't want to think about having to lose another parent.

The officer eased up on Nozomi after seeing her reaction and helped her outside, "Please, remain calm. We promise that we will find the monster who did this... Is there anyone else in the house?"

Nozomi wiped away her tears and shook her head, "Y-Yes, my younger brother Takumi and younger sister Ayano. They're asleep upstairs."

Another policeman poked his head outside of the door, "Captain, you're going to want to see this..."

"What is it? Can't you see I'm busy here?" The officer pointed out.

"But sir, there's more up-" the policeman immediately shut his mouth, but Nozomi had already picked up on what he said.

"More what?" Nozomi stood up. She didn't want to go straight for the worst case scenario, but her brain wouldn't let up. "What do you mean by more?!" Nozomi unconsciously started yelling. Her body moved on her own and she pushed the two officers away from her. She sprinted up the stairs to see a team of policemen surrounding her siblings' room.

"TAKUMI?! AYANO?!" Nozomi ran for the room but she was immediately stopped by the officers in the area.

"Miss! Please wait outside while we investigate!" An officer yelled.

"TAKUMI! AYANO! PLEASE TELL ME YOU'RE OKAY? PLEASE SAY SOMETHING!" Nozomi yelled at the tip of her lungs. She fought her hardest and broke away from the men that held her back. She stumbled into the room and was met with a gruesome sight. She covered her mouth as she stared in disbelief. Her legs gave out and she fell to her knees.

Everything had gone blank. Her mind had blocked out every single sense other than her vision. She didn't hear the officers yelling at her, nor did she feel herself getting yanked back them. All she could see was blood stained across each bed. Nozomi let out a cry of despair as she was pulled away by the remaining policemen, "NOOOO! TAKUMI! AYANO!" she thrashed and screamed with all of her might.

Nozomi was led out of the house and into a police car. She kicked and screamed until she had no strength left to do either. All she could do was stare into her lap and at the hand stained with her father's blood.

* * *

Umi awoke to a call in the middle of the night, it was a call from work. She rubbed her eyes and yawned before getting up and putting on some clothes. She was ready and prepared for work in no less than 10 minutes. She grabbed her keys and her leather jacket before leaving home.

Umi drove quickly and arrived in front of a home within 20 minutes. She parked her car across the street and stepped out. She made her way to the other side where officers saluted and greeted her.

"Detective Sonoda! We're glad that you could come on short notice," the captain said.

Umi nodded her head in response, "Glad I could be of assistance, so what's the situation?"

The captain scratched his head before responding, "It looks like we have another murder case on our hands."

Umi walked into the house and the captain followed closely behind, "There are three victims. Toujou Hamada, Male, Age 53. Toujou Ayano, Female, Age 9. And Toujou Takumi, Male, Age 11."

Umi turned to face the captain, "There were children involved?"

"I'm afraid so, Detective," the captain answered sadly.

"Are there any survivors?" Umi asked.

"There is one, Toujou Nozomi, Female, Age 23." He replied back.

"23? What is a young woman like her doing here?" She continued to question.

"We believe that Hamada and Nozomi were father and daughter, Detective." He answered back.

"That would make sense... Okay, dismissed." Umi waved her hand and the captain saluted before returning to his duties.

She took a step into the living room to inspect the crime scene. She watched as policemen cleared a path for her, their faces reacting negatively to the scene.

"Alright you guys, clear and secure the crime scene," Umi announced. The men saluted and did as they were told.

She knelt next to the man's corpse and inspected him. The slit across his neck marked the cause of death and the amount of blood on the ground suggested that the killer knew what they were doing.

"Judging by the crime scene... it seems that the victim was unaware of his attacker. No weapon was found, but the thickness of the cut would suggest that the weapon was either a box cutter, or a razor." Umi spoke to herself and stood up.

"The way that the blood is splattered would mean that the victim bled out quickly, a cut to the jugular vein perhaps?" She looked over at the pool of blood that surrounded the chair. There was also blood spattered across the dinner table which suggested that a major vein had been cut.

Umi stood up and ran the information through her head with a possible reconstruction of the crime scene.

The victim was alone in the living room having dinner while watching TV. He had most likely just woken up and wasn't fully aware of his surrounding. During this time, the killer snuck through the living room door and attacked the victim swiftly with a blade. There was no sign of struggle, nor was there any sign of forced entry.

Umi cleared her head and walked away from the crime scene. She headed upstairs to investigate the next tragedy.

Without having to be told, the officers in the room evacuated the scene and let Umi do her work. She walked over to the small beds and uncovered the bodies. Umi looked away for a second and closed her eyes. She had seen a lot of grisly crime scenes before, but nothing compared to the death of a child.

She braced herself and began her inspection, "Cause of death is identical to the victim downstairs..." Umi looked closely and made the same connections to the victim before.

"How can someone do this to children..." Umi looked around the room one last time. Again there was no sign of a struggle which meant that they were killed in their sleep. There was also no sign of a forced entry.

Umi sighed and made her way out of the home.

"Oh you're finished, Detective?" The captain asked.

Umi looked at him, "The way the victims were killed..."

He nodded in response, "Yeah... Exactly like Case A.M."

"Where is the survivor?" she asked.

The captain pointed to a police car across from Umi's. She nodded and thanked him before heading over. She approached the police car slowly and tapped on the window to get the girl's attention.

She looked up slowly with tears running down her cheeks.

Umi opened the door slowly and took a seat next to the girl.

"Hello , my name is Sonoda Umi and I am the detective that has been assigned to this case." She offered her hand to shake.

Nozomi hesitantly shook Umi's hand, "Hello Detective..."

"Do you mind if I ask you some questions?" Umi never liked having to question the victims, but she had to if she wanted to capture the culprit.

Nozomi nodded.

"Okay... What were you doing during the time of the crime?"

"I was asleep in my room." She replied

"Asleep?" Umi was thrown off by her answer. If Nozomi was asleep during the time of the crime, why wasn't she targeted like her siblings?

She cleared her throat before continuing, "How did you discover the crime scene?"

"I woke up to get myself a glass of water. I saw my father on the kitchen table and tried to wake him up. That's when I... saw it."

Umi noticed how hard Nozomi was trying to keep herself from crying again. She really didn't want to ask the next question,

"... Was it you?"

Nozomi gasped and stared in disbelief, "H-How could you even ask that?!"

"I'm sorry... I have to narrow down the suspects and..." Umi looked down.

"And what, Detective?" Nozomi became defensive.

"With the way things are looking, you're the only suspect we have," Umi looked up and stared straight into Nozomi's eyes.

She felt the piercing gaze of Umi's eyes and it ran a chill down her spine. They were cold, almost lifeless.

"I wouldn't do it, I swear... I loved them so much..." Nozomi clutched her chest as she answered.

Umi laid back, "I believe you... I just have a few more questions and I'll be on my way."

Nozomi nodded.

"Do you have any idea about who could have done this?"

Nozomi thought hard about the question, "No, none at all."

"Friends? Co-workers? Anything?" Umi pressed on.

"I can't really think of anyone, I'm sorry," Nozomi bowed as she apologized.

"No, no. That's okay, you don't have to apologize," Umi stopped Nozomi from bowing.

"Do you have anywhere to stay until things settle down?"

"Umm... I guess I can ask to stay at a friend's home for a while"

Umi nodded and opened the door.

"That's all for now, I'll stop pestering you," Umi stepped out of the car and looked back at Nozomi, "I promise that I will catch this monster and see to that they are punished for their crimes."

She closed the door and walked back to her own car, "Case A.M... Is there a connection here?"

* * *

Nozomi watched as the detective walked away. Something about her seemed off. Her eyes were cold and almost lifeless. What exactly has she been through, what has she seen?

She couldn't stop her head from filling up with thoughts revolving around Umi. She turned back to face the house and noticed the captain walking towards the car. He made his way around and sat in the driver seat, "Do you have a place to stay?" He asked.

Nozomi nodded and started giving him directions. They arrived in front of a small home 10 minutes later and she got out. She waved back at the officer, "Make sure to stay safe, Miss Toujou."

The officer saluted and drove off. Nozomi kept waving until the car disappeared from her sight. She sighed as she walked through the small gate and knocked on the door. It opened quickly and she was hugged instantly, "Nozomi, I'm so glad you're safe."

Nozomi pet the girl's head, "I'm okay, Nico."

She shook her head, "Don't pretend like nothing is wrong... I'm sorry about what happened."

Nozomi weakly smiled before asking, "How do you know about it already?"

"I just saw it on the news," Nico explained.

"... Why are you up so late, Nicocchi?" Nozomi questioned.

Nico flinched.

"N-No reason, I was just up," Nico attempted to cover something up.

"You were up late playing video games again weren't you?" Nozomi sighed.

"Of course no- Okay you got me..." Nico hung her head, but quickly recovered, "But that doesn't matter, get in here already!"

Nico pulled on Nozomi's arm and it caused her to stumble past the front door.

"Everyone else is still asleep, so I'll just explain everything to Mommy when she wakes up," Nico let go of Nozomi's hand and shut the door. "I'll come up with an excuse for the little ones."

Nozomi nodded in response.

"You must be exhausted, do you want me to draw you a bath?" Nico insisted.

"No that's fine, I just want to sleep," she weakly chuckled.

"Oh, okay then. You can sleep in my room on the bed. I'll lay out a futon for myself," Nico started walking up the stairs.

"Hey, Nicocchi?" Nozomi called out.

"Hmm? What is it?" Nico turned her head to face Nozomi.

"Do you remember back when we were kids, and we used to sleep in the same bed?" she asked.

"I guess? Why?" Nico questioned back.

"Well... Can we do that tonight?" Nozomi asked shyly.

"W-what? Nozomi, we're both 23 year old women," Nico blushed at the thought of the idea.

"Please, Nico? I really need someone to hold, just for tonight..." Nozomi's eyes reflected her pain and Nico gave in.

"F-fine, only for tonight," she replied.

Nozomi smiled and the two continued up the stairs. Nico pushed the door to her room open and flipped on the lights, she noticed that her tv still had the news on and she quickly turned it off before Nozomi could see.

Nozomi took a seat on Nico's bed while she dug through her dresser, "Did you bring a change of clothes?"

Nozomi shook her head and Nico sighed, "I'm pretty sure I don't have anything that can fit you... Let me go check Mommy's clothes."

Nico left Nozomi alone in the room and returned after a few minutes with a change of clothes.

"Here, you should be able to fit this... hopefully," Nico stared at Nozomi's large chest.

Nozomi took the clothes and thanked Nico before she started changing. The clothes were a little tight, but they were much more wearable than Nico's. Nozomi thanked Nico's mother in her head.

Nico grabbed another pillow from her closet and set up the bed so that it could fit two people.

"Do you want the side touching the wall?" Nico asked.

Nozomi nodded and climbed onto the bed. Nico got up and walked over to the light switch, "Are you all comfortable? I'm turning off the light."

Nozomi put up her hand and gave Nico a thumbs up. She turned the lights off and carefully made her way onto the bed, "Okay... I'm coming in, Nozomi."

She carefully slid herself under the covers and rested her head on her pillow. She could hear Nozomi's breathing and felt her warmth radiating off of her. Nico felt a pair of arms wrap around her and she was pulled in closer to Nozomi. Her face grew red and was heating up, but she had to endure it for Nozomi's sake.

"I'm glad you're here for me, Nico..." Nozomi whispered.

"O-Of course, why would I leave you at a time like this?" Nico replied.

Nozomi remained silent, all she did was pull Nico in closer. She pressed up against Nico's small back and let herself drift off to sleep.

"Y-your boobs, Nozomi," Nico yelled in her head. It was much harder for her to fall asleep, but she eventually did.

* * *

Umi drove home shortly after the police car holding Nozomi had left. She sat at a long red light and analyzed what information she could gather from the crime scene. It had similarities with a case that she worked on in the past known as Case A.M.

"Is the killer still out there? Or is this a copycat?" Umi muttered to herself.

The light turned green and Umi stepped on the gas pedal lightly into a smooth drive. She arrived home and sat at the only table in the middle of the room. It was littered with paperwork, photographs and leftover dinner. On the ground were numerous empty bottles and cans. Umi's room was a mess, but she didn't really have time to clean it. She leaned over on the table and took a deep breath. She rubbed her temples and tried to ease her mind.

"Everything is just too similar..." Umi's eyes caught a glimpse of a shattered portrait that laid on the ground next to her foot. She reached down to pick it up and set it up on the table. It was a picture of her with another girl, they were both smiling.

Umi couldn't remember the last time she had been happy.

"First thing to do..." Umi stopped herself from thinking too much. "I have to set up some interviews with the neighbors. Maybe they saw something that we missed."

Umi looked over at the digital clock that was sitting on her nightstand. The time was 4:28am. She got up and stretched, "I might as well stay up."

She navigated through her messy room to get a fresh change of clothes before walking into her bathroom.

* * *

It was 10am now and Umi was already out on the job. She patrolled the area surrounding the Toujou household and stopped to question any of the pedestrians that may have frequented the area.

"Thank you for your time," Umi bid farewell to a younger woman that she was questioning.

Her efforts would prove to be fruitless. All of the neighbors reported no suspicious activity and were asleep in their homes during the time of the crime. No leads, no new suspects.

"Hey there, Detective~!" A light voice called out.

Umi's thought process broke when she felt a light tap on her shoulder. She turned around to face an ashen haired girl who was smiling at her, "Kotori?"

"Reporting for duty, ma'am," she playfully saluted and winked.

Umi shrugged it off, "What are you doing here?"

"I was on my to work and I saw you, so why not say hello?" She replied.

"I see... How are things?" Umi engaged in conversation.

Kotori brought her hand up to brush away a few strands of hair hanging in front of her, "Things have been good! I actually just got promoted recently."

Umi noticed the ring around Kotori's finger, "That's good."

"What about you?" She asked.

"I'm working on another case," Umi replied.

Kotori puffed her cheeks and looked displeased, "Always working on a case, huh? You know, if you weren't so hung up on your job so much, maybe we would have worked out."

"There's no need to rub salt on the wound, Kotori," Umi began to feel displeased with Kotori's presence.

"I'm just saying that you need to loosen up a little, Umi. A girl needs some attention from time to time," Kotori took on a sympathetic tone.

Umi remained silent and turned around, "Is she treating you well?"

"Who? Honoka?"

"So that's her name..." Umi began walking off and Kotori followed.

"She's been really great. Always making time in her schedule to spend time with me," she continued happily.

"It's good that you're happy," Umi responded automatically.

"Why do you ask?" Kotori felt a shiver run down her spine, "You're not going to background check her or anything, are you?!" she started pushing against Umi.

"No, it's because I saw that," Umi pointed down to Kotori's finger.

Kotori held out her hand and presented the ring, "Oh... This. Umm, yeah she proposed to me last weekend at our anniversary."

Umi pulled out her phone to check the time, "Shouldn't you be getting to work now?"

"What time is it?" Kotori checked her own wristwatch and yelped, "Oh no! I'm going to be late, I'll talk to you again sometime!"

Kotori ran off and Umi returned to her investigation. It didn't bother Umi much that Kotori had moved on. But then again, that would be a lie. No matter how many times she forced that thought into her head, she still couldn't let go of Kotori.

Perhaps if she wasn't a detective, everything may have worked out for the two of them.

She shook her head to get rid of the thoughts, all she could do was keep her mind focused on the case. If she didn't, she wouldn't be able to stop herself from thinking too much. With no leads or suspects, Umi made her way to the police station. Maybe she could find some information there, if not, at least the training facility will keep her occupied for some time.

* * *

Nozomi woke up around 10am. She was alone in the bed and there was no sign of Nico around. She sat up and rubbed her eyes before yawning. She stretched and crawled out of bed, maybe Nico was downstairs.

She carefully made her way down the stairs, using the handrail to keep herself balanced. She could hear the noise of children clamouring from the living room. She walked towards the doorway and took a peek inside. She almost expected Takumi and Ayano to be inside, however, it was Nico's younger siblings.

"Ahh, it's Nozo-nee," Kotarou called out.

Nozomi's chest tightened after she heard "Nozo-nee." She became short of breath and she felt her tears welling up.

"Kotarou, I told you to stop calling Nozomi that," a voice called out.

Nozomi looked up to see Nico holding a ladel and wearing an apron. Their eyes met and Nico called out to her, "Good morning, Nozomi. I'm sorry about the noise."

Nozomi turned her head away from sight and quickly wiped away her imminent tears. She turned back and shook her head, "Don't worry about it, I'm used to noisy mornings."

Nico's face grew worrisome, "Well, I have breakfast here for you." She motioned her hand to present a simple egg and toast breakfast.

"I know it's not much, but we haven't stocked up on groceries lately," Nico rubbed the back of her neck.

Nozomi shook her head, "No, no. It's fine. I'm not that hungry anyways." She took a step into the living room and took a seat at the table. Nico grabbed her own plate and sat next to her.

"I told Mommy that you'll be staying with us for a while and she said that it'd be fine as long as you help out around the house." Nico began eating her food.

"Thank you so much, Nico." Nozomi smiled and began eating her breakfast. She didn't really eat as much as she normally did, in fact, she barely made a dent on her plate.

Nico noticed that Nozomi only took one bite out of the toast and ate maybe a third of the eggs. She wasn't surprised, the sudden loss of her family would cause her eating habits to change drastically.

"Done already?" Nico asked hesitantly.

"Mhmm..." Nozomi nodded and pushed the plate over to Nico.

She took the plate away and looked at her siblings, "Kokoro, Kokoa, do either of you want more food?" The two girls nodded and split Nozomi's plate between one another.

Nico turned her attention back to Nozomi, "So, what do you want to do together?"

"What?" Nozomi broke out of her silent trance.

"It's my day off today, want to do something together like old times?" Nico offered.

"I-I'm not sure," Nozomi couldn't come up with anything.

"How about we go do some shopping? Or take a walk to that old park we went to when we were kids," Nico started listing some options.

Nozomi simply nodded. Nico got up, "I drew a bath, you should go get ready while I clean up around here."

Nozomi got up and went to the bathroom as Nico suggested. She watched as Nozomi shuffled her feet towards the bathroom and waited until she could hear the water running. Nico cleaned up the table and placed the used dishes into the sink.

"Oh right, she needs clothes," Nico rushed upstairs and into her mother's room to grab a spare outfit. She returned downstairs and entered the bathroom, "Hey Nozomi?!" She called out.

"What is it?" Nozomi responded.

"I'm leaving some clothes here for you when you finish," she yelled back as she left the clothing on the basket.

Nico left and returned to the sink. She started washing the dishes and thought to herself. When they were younger, Nozomi was always the one to take care of Nico. But now, it seemed that Nico was the caretaker. She remembered those days in the park where Nozomi would carry her piggyback style when she scraped her knee. Compared to the pain Nozomi was feeling now, that was nothing. There was no easy way to make Nozomi feel better, this wasn't something that you could stick a band-aid on and call it a day. The pain carved deep into Nozomi's heart is something that could take years to mend.

"I don't know if I can do it... But I will do the best I can for you, Nozomi..." she muttered to herself.

Nico focused on washing the dishes until Nozomi returned from the bathroom. She walked in with a towel wrapped around her hair, "Nicocchi, where's your hair dryer?"

"It's upstairs in my room on the dresser," Nico responded while wiping a plate dry. She watched Nozomi leave the living room and return with the hair dryer.

"Why did you bring it down here?" Nico asked.

"No reason..." Nozomi plugged the hair dryer into an outlet by the couch and casually started drying her hair. Nico shrugged it off and finished drying off the rest of the plates. She rolled down her sleeves and took a seat next to Nozomi.

"So do you want to go visit the shopping district first? Or go to the park?" Nico asked.

"Let's go shopping, I need some of my own clothing for now. At least until I can get my clothes back at home…" Nozomi's voice trailed off.

Nico noticed Nozomi's deteriorating voice and quickly stood up, "Well what are we waiting for then, let's go!" Nico pulled on Nozomi's hand which caused her to drop the hair dryer.

"But Nico, I'm not finished drying my hair yet!" Nozomi protested.

"It looks good enough and it'll dry on the walk there, don't worry about it!" Nico kept at Nozomi until she finally gave up.

* * *

Nico dragged Nozomi by the hand until they reached the shopping district in their town. It wasn't very large compared to some in Tokyo, but it was a very popular place for people of all ages to come to. Aside from the markets, there are other small designer shops that sell clothing or other goods. There is also a playground in the middle for any of the kids as well as a street performer every now and then. Today there was a red haired girl with short hair playing on a keyboard.

"Wow, she's really good," Nico whispered to Nozomi. She left a couple hundred yen in the girl's keyboard case and continued on. The two arrived at a small clothing shop that the two of them often frequented.

"Lets go pick out some cute clothes for you!" Nico cheered. The two girls walked around the shop and picked out which clothes they wanted to try on before buying. Nozomi tried on a variety of dresses ranging from red to blue to purple. Nico was much more into the tomboyish look, wearing shorts and t-shirts. The two would also try on joke clothing to make each other laugh and they would eventually spend an hour and a half in that store.

The two walked out of the shop with a few bags in their hands, giggling about the clothes they tried on.

"At least she's laughing again…" Nico thought to herself. She checked her wristwatch and saw that it was noon.

"Hey Nicocchi, I'm hungry," Nozomi brought up.

Nico nodded, "Yeah, I was about to say we should go get some lunch," she looked up and down the shopping district, "Is there anything you have in mind?"

"Grilled Meat." Nozomi replied quickly.

Nico flinched at Nozomi's quick response but calmed down shortly after, "Your favorite?"

Nozomi nodded, "Mhmm!"

They laughed and started walking down the street. The restaurant was at the end so it was going to take at least a couple of minutes to reach it.

"Oh that's right, we have to visit the market before we leave," Nico added.

"Mm" Nozomi nodded her head.

The two girls continued on their way to the restaurant, there was an incoming group of people walking in the opposite direction. Looks like the lunch hour had just hit for the people that went to work. Nozomi and Nico carefully moved their way past the group, making sure not to bump into anybody.

Nico made it out of the herd first and was waving her hand for Nozomi to see. She barely caught sight of Nico's hand and picked up her pace. During her rush, Nozomi accidentally bumped shoulder to shoulder with another person, causing her to drop her bags.

"I'm sorry," the voice said.

"No it's okay, I wasn't looking," Nozomi closed her eyes and shook her head in apology.

"Here, let me help," the voice said.

Nozomi opened her eyes and caught a glimpse of ocean blue hair. The person stood up and handed Nozomi her bags.

"Detective?"

Umi took a hold of Nozomi's hand and quickly led the two of them out of the crowd of people. She handed Nozomi her bags and began walking away.

"Wait, Detective!" Nozomi yelled after her.

Umi turned her head towards Nozomi.

"W-Would you like to join us for lunch?" She asked. Nozomi had to thank Umi for her help, even if it didn't seem like much.

Umi shook her head, "I'm sorry, I can't. I'm on duty."

"Oh... Maybe next time then," Nozomi smiled and waved her goodbye. Umi nodded and did a small little salute with her fingers before walking off.

* * *

Umi walked away from the girl and made her way to the police station to further her investigation. There might not be much since she had gathered most of the information on her own earlier this morning but it was still worth a shot in her eyes.

Umi arrived at the police station and walked past the sliding doors. The officer at the front desk saluted her and so did the other officers that she passed. She would nod back in response to these salutes like she normally did.

She came to a stop in front of a door with a label saying, "Intel Department." and knocked on the door. She waited for a voice to allow her to enter.

"Come in!" A voice said.

"Pardon the intrusion," Umi slid past the door and bowed to the figure in the room, "Officer Koizumi."

"I told you not to use my real name," Hanayo spun around in her chair to face Umi.

"What was it again?" Umi scratched her head.

"R.I.C.!" Hanayo repeated it again for Umi, "Sheesh, you've been so forgetful ever since Koto-" she quickly cleared her throat before continuing.

"Anyways, refer to me as The R.I.C. you never know who's listening," Hanayo finished.

"Like who?" Umi asked.

"In my line of work... I have a lot of enemies, Umi." Hanayo said coldly. "So what can I do for you today, Detective?"

Umi reached into her coat and pulled out a manilla envelope. Hanayo reached her hand out and grabbed it, "What is this?"

"It's all the info I have on the current case I'm working on," Umi answered.

"The Toujou Case?" Hanayo asked again.

Umi nodded, "Yeah, I was hoping you would be able to dig up something on that computer of yours that might relate to the case."

Hanayo sighed and tossed the manilla envelope onto her desk. She took her glasses off and massaged her eyes.

"How's the new arm doing?" Umi asked abruptly.

Hanayo put her glasses back on and presented her right hand, "It's coming along slowly..." she moved her fingers around to show its effectiveness. It looks normal at first glance, but if you were to pull up her sleeve you would see how unnaturally shaped it was.

"Still getting used to it?" Umi continued.

"I'm developing it myself so... yeah, I guess so," Hanayo inspected her arm.

"It's such a shame..." Umi looked down.

"What was that?"

"I could use a partner like you again," Umi looked up and smiled.

Hanayo laughed awkwardly, "I'm sorry, Detective. But the higher ups won't approve my papers, not with this at least," Hanayo held up her arm again. "I can barely write with this."

Hanayo cleared her throat again, "Anyways, I'll get to work on this and see if I can dig anything up," Hanayo spun around in her chair to face the computer screen.

"Thanks, Hanayo" Umi bowed and turned to leave.

"That's R.I.C. to you. Make sure to visit Rin, she's been lonely without you lately," Hanayo waved without looking back.

"I will when I see her, thanks again," Umi shut the door gently and started making her way to the locker rooms. She didn't have time to complete her morning workout because of what happened, so the training facility here should do the trick for her.

Umi stepped into the women's locker room and started undressing. She placed her clothes in her locker and pulled out a training uniform which consisted of a short sports top and short running tights to help her move and breathe easily.

She felt a slap against her butt and turned around quickly, "Hey Detective! The Nyamazing Rin has arrived!"

Umi karate chopped Rin on the head immediately, "Stop goofing around... and don't slap my butt like that."

"Aww... you're no fun, Umi. This is how you treat your partner after not seeing her for a week?" Rin tried to inject guilt into Umi, but it wasn't going to be as easy as she planned.

"How is the paperwork I assigned to you coming along?" Umi asked while tying her shoes.

Rin flinched and swallowed, "F-Fine, it's all done and ready to go!" She began to feel her forehead sweating.

"Did you really?" Umi zoomed in closer to Rin until she had her up against the lockers, "Because if I find a pile of paperwork on your desk after I'm done..." she was giving off a very menacing aura.

"Y-Yes, ma'am..." Rin sunk to her knees.

Umi turned around to leave the locker room, "You better work fast, Nyamazing Rin."

Rin waited until Umi disappeared from her sight before she let out a deep breath in relief, "Umi is so scary when she's serious..." Rin got up quickly and changed back into her uniform, "I better finish that paperwork quickly."

Rin quickly made her way back to her desk and started working hastily on the paperwork.

Umi walked into the training facility and stretched, the room was divided into two different sections. One half for weightlifting, and the other half for cardiovascular improvement. Umi always started her workouts with a one mile run, so she made her way to an open treadmill.

Umi's stamina was phenomenal and she could easily run a mile in less than 10 minutes without feeling any fatigue. After she got her mile run in, she would then head over to the weightlifting half of the facility. She didn't really like bulking herself up, so she mostly focused on lifting that would help her tone out her body.

Umi was a bit of a celebrity in the facility. She would capture the eyes of other male and female officers there. Some guys would even try to outlift each other to show off their strength to her while some of the girls would have Umi "help" them with lifting techniques.

At the end of her workout, Umi focused on her core before doing one final run. Umi's core workouts were the ladies' favorite part. Her body was fairly toned and defined, her arms, legs and abs were fan favorites among the women.

Umi's core workout was interrupted when Rin came running in, "Hey Umi, let me help you finish up."

She felt a pair of hands holding her feet down. Umi reacted naturally and began doing sit-ups, "So how many this time?" Rin asked.

"100 should be enough," Umi replied back in between sit-ups.

"Ehh? 100? You can do more than that," Rin protested.

"Yeah, I know. I just don't want to," She continued.

Rin pouted, "Why?"

"... Everyone's staring at me," Umi answered back.

Rin raised her head and looked around to see numerous people watching the duo work together. Or more like just watching Umi. Before Rin realized, Umi was already done and calling out her name, "Rin? Rin! You can let go now."

"Oh! I'm sorry," Rin let go of Umi's feet and helped her up.

"Thanks for the help," Umi patted Rin's shoulder as she walked by. Rin followed after Umi into the locker room. She picked up an extra towel and tossed it to her, "Here Umi, catch!"

Umi caught it and started wiping down her body to rid the sweat. She let out a deep breath before heading towards the showers. She showered quickly and returned to change back into her clothes from before.

She pulled out her phone and checked the time. Umi spent two hours on her workout, "I should check up on Hanayo to see if anything has come up." She turned off the display on her phone and made her way to the intel department once more.

Umi knocked on the door and waited for Hanayo's voice before entering. She barely picked up her voice and opened the door, "So do you have anything yet?"

Hanayo was typing swiftly with her left hand while the prosthetic one lagged behind, "Yeah, I've drawn some connections, but nothing has been set in stone other than a few suspects."

"Tell me what you have," Umi took a seat next to Hanayo. She typed in a command and a series of windows opened up.

"Do you remember Case A.M.?" Hanayo asked.

"Yeah, I do. It was left unsolved," Umi replied disappointingly.

"Well... like in your notes that you left in the manilla envelope, there is a clear connection between Case A.M. and the current one you're working with," Hanayo explained.

"The causes of death are the same, as well as the targets. A slit to the throat, and one survivor of the family." She continued.

"During Case A.M., two families were involved. I'm sure you're familiar with both?" Hanayo suggested.

"The Ayase's and the Minami's," Umi answered.

"Yes, that is why the case is labeled A.M. aside from the crimes happening during the late hours," Hanayo pulled up a few pictures of two girls.

"Here we have Minami Kotori, she was the survivor of the first family that was attacked. She lost her mother, father, and younger brother," Hanayo pointed to the next girl.

"The next survivor was Ayase Eli. Her family was attacked a few weeks after the Minami's. She lost her mother, grandmother and younger sister," she summed up.

"What do they have to do with the case now?" Umi brought up a question.

"It isn't exactly clear yet, but talking to them would be a good start. If the killer is still out there, they may be able to help... If there's a copycat... It could be one of them," her voice became grim.

"That's a stretched out assumption, Hanayo."

"I know, but we cannot eliminate the possibility of the trauma causing one of them extreme psychological damage."

Umi sighed and got up slowly, "I guess I'll go talk with Kotori then, where's Ayase's address?"

Hanayo frowned, "There's a problem with that... Our records show that Eli moved out of the country to Russia."

"So in other words, there's no way of contacting her," Umi finished Hanayo's sentence.

Hanayo nodded and Umi turned to leave. She was stopped by Hanayo after a few steps, "What is it?"

Hanayo's face grew worrisome, "Look, I know that you still have feelings for Kotori... but don't let them get in the way, she could be a suspect."

Umi pulled her arm out of Hanayo's grasp, "I know..." she reached for handle to leave.

"Stay safe out there, Umi."


	2. Chapter 2

Nozomi and Nico arrived at the restaurant and took their seats. They ordered the grilled meat like Nozomi had wanted and the waiter brought out a grill. Shortly after a large plate of uncooked meat was placed in front of them.

"I-Isn't this a bit much, Nico?" Nozomi asked.

"Don't worry about it, I'm paying anyways," Nico shrugged Nozomi's worry away.

Nozomi tilted her head and began grilling some meat. The restaurant was filled with the scent of meat cooking. The sizzle of the meats echoed around the restaurant and caused many other restaurant goers to turn their attention towards them. Nozomi looked around the table, "Hey Nicocchi? Where are the sauces?"

Nico looked around but didn't spot any, "Give me a second," she held up her hand and waited until a waiter came by.

"Can I help you ladies?" The man asked.

Nico pointed over to Nozomi who was just about to eat a finished piece of meat. She was surprised and dropped the meat onto her plate, "Y-yes, can we have some sauces?"

"Of course ma'am, what would you prefer?" said the waiter.

Nozomi hesitated for a moment, "It may sound weird, but could you bring us some Hoisin sauce and Sriracha?"

The waiter bowed and left to the kitchen to fulfill Nozomi's request.

Nico placed her elbow on the table and used her hand as a headrest, "That mix again?"

Nozomi nodded, "You still haven't tried it?"

Nico shook her head, "It sounds too weird for me."

"Come on, Nico. At least try it today?" Nozomi pouted.

"What does it even taste like?"

"Hmm... It's like... a spicy barbeque sauce, I guess?" Nozomi held up her finger in question, "It has the sriracha spice that you like though!"

"Hmm... Maybe just a little..." Nico picked up some uncooked meat and slapped them onto the grill.

The two ate their meat slowly until the waiter returned with Nozomi's sauce mix. She smiled and thanked the waiter before moving the small sauce bowl to the middle.

"Here, have some Nicocchi," Nozomi pushed the sauce bowl closer to her.

Nico picked up her spoon and scooped up a small amount of it for her plate. Nozomi watched closely as Nico dipped the freshly cooked meat on the sauce. She watched as Nico brought it up slowly to her mouth and made eye contact. Nico hesitated for a moment and shook her head slightly. She engulfed the piece of meat and chewed slowly, making sure to savor the sauce.

Nozomi observed Nico's face, it went from an unsure expression to a more satisfied one, "Good?" she asked.

Nico nodded and waited until she finished swallowing, "It is surprisingly good!"

"Told you~" Nozomi smiled and reached for the sauce bowl. She brought it to her plate and poured a considerable amount onto it.

"H-Hey! Save some for me," Nico protested.

"I will fight you for this sauce, Nicocchi," Nozomi playfully threatened.

Nico flinched and started laughing. Nozomi giggled along with her and the two enjoyed their lunch.

"Hey, Nozomi. Do you see that girl over there?" Nico slyly pointed to a corner in the restaurant.

Nozomi looked around and spotted her, "That one?"

Nico brought up her hand to whisper, "Yeah, don't you think she kind of looks like one of those european dolls?"

Nozomi observed the girl, she had blonde hair and crystal blue eyes. If she had to guess, she was most likely from the UK or Russia.

"Yeah, she really does..." Nozomi muttered while keeping her eyes on the girl.

The girl looked over and made eye contact with her. Nozomi quickly looked away and stuffed her mouth with some more grilled meat.

"Nozomi, we're out of sauce," Nico brought up.

"It's your turn to ask," Nozomi denied.

Nico sighed and raised her hand for attention. The waiter brought over another sauce bowl of the mix and the two continued until they were completely full. They leaned back in their chairs and observed the remains of the battlefield on the table.

The waiter returned and handed the bill to Nico, she opened it and jumped a little.

"How much is it, Nico?" Nozomi asked.

Nico looked at the number, it was around $80 in yen. She decided to keep it a secret from Nozomi and lied, "Turns out they were having a special today, so it is around 3,500 yen." Nico reached into her pocket to pull out her wallet, she took out her debit card and placed it in the little booklet.

Nozomi reached into her own wallet and pulled out 500 yen, "Here, for the tip."

Nico grabbed the money from Nozomi and added it into the booklet. The waiter came by and picked up the check, he later returned with the receipt and the two were out of the restaurant shortly after.

"Okay, time to go grocery shopping," Nico declared.

The two girls walked a few blocks down to the marketplace, "Nico, look! There's a flash sale going on!" Nozomi pointed at a sign hanging by the entrance.

"All meat is 50% off?!" Nico grabbed Nozomi's hand and pulled her.

"Oww, not so hard Nicocchi!" Nozomi complained.

"Oh, I'm sorry Nozomi... Sales like these excite me, " Nico apologized.

"It's okay, I wasn't ready when you pulled me, " Nozomi tried to play it off.

Nico looked up and smiled before grabbing Nozomi's hand again. They both picked up handbaskets. One was for meats and the other was for things like vegetables, drinks and snacks. Nico decided to carry the heavier of the baskets and left the lighter one for Nozomi.

An hour passed by and the two girls were finally out of the marketplace with numerous bags in their hands.

"Here Nozomi, let's switch," Nico handed Nozomi her bags of clothing that they had shopped for earlier today. She then reached for the other groceries in Nozomi's hands.

"I-isn't that heavy for you though, Nico?" Nozomi held the groceries back.

Nico shook her head, "I'm used to carrying a lot of groceries, don't worry about me."

Nozomi reluctantly handed over the groceries she was carrying. Nico had all of the groceries while Nozomi carried the clothes they had bought. Nozomi looked over at Nico while they walked, it didn't really look or seem fair for Nico to carry all of that by herself. For whatever reason, Nico insisted on doing it.

Nico felt her fingers going numb, since there was a sale, the meats were heavier than usual. Normally she would complain since she grocery shops alone, but she was with Nozomi. She didn't want Nozomi to do any hard work like carrying heavy groceries. So Nico kept her mouth shut and smiled.

For Nozomi.

"Do you still want to visit the park?" Nico asked.

"No, we should head home," Nozomi replied.

Nico was confused, "But didn't you want to go too?"

Nozomi shook her head, "I do, but not if you have to suffer."

"W-what do you mean?" now Nico was totally lost.

Nozomi pointed down at Nico's hands, "Your fingers are really red, you're in pain aren't you?"

Nico looked down and noticed her fingers were a different color than usual, "N-No, not at all!"

"Nico..." Nozomi looked at her apologetically, "You don't have to do this in spite of me."

Nico remained silent and continued walking, "I'm not doing it because I have to... It's because I want to."

Nozomi stayed silent.

Nico led them to the park instead of her home. She set down the groceries on a bench and took a seat. Nozomi did the same and sat next to Nico.

"Let me see your hands," Nozomi reached for Nico's hands and observed them withiin her own. They were very red and looked painful.

"I'm fine, Nozomi," Nico tried to pull away but Nozomi wouldn't allow it. She started to feel her fingers getting massaged gently by Nozomi. The pain in her fingers slowly subsided and returned to their normal color.

"Is that better?" Nozomi asked quietly.

Nico turned away and nodded, "...Yeah..."

Nozomi got up and stood in front of Nico, "Hey, lets go on the swings," Nozomi pointed towards the swingset behind her. Nico got up and followed.

Nozomi took a seat on one of the swingsets and Nico took the one next to her. They started swinging with each other, "Hey Nico, do you remember that day when you tripped and hurt your knee?" Nozomi asked.

"Yeah... I do. You carried me all the way home and cried because you thought it was your fault," Nico started laughing.

"But it was, wasn't it? I was the one who pushed you," Nozomi replied.

"I just lost my balance, you didn't do anything," Nico explained.

"But I still feel bad about it…"

"Don't worry, at least it wasn't something permanent or serious," Nico joked. She started giggling, "What about that one time when we bet on who could finish the monkey bars. The loser hand to princess carry the winner back home."

Nozomi laughed too, "Neither of us were able to do it."

Nico bursted out into laughter when she pictured the memory in her head, "You couldn't even make it past the first few," Nico started to feel a pain in her stomach from laughing too much.

Nozomi pouted, "Well you didn't finish it either, and you didn't go much further than I did."

Nico continued to laugh, "M-My stomach! Stop it hurts!" She couldn't stop laughing.

Nozomi puffed her cheeks out, "Let's settle this bet now!" She got up and pulled Nico off the swings, causing her to simmer down on her laughter. She was pulled over to the monkey bars and released, "Bet and prize are still the same!"

Nico wiped away her tears from laughing and pushed Nozomi to the side, "I'll go first then."

Nico climbed the small ladder and grabbed the bars with her hands, she slowly made her way across the monkey bars. She reached about halfway when her hands really started to ache. She could normally do it, but since her hands were already hurting from before it was much harder.

"Are you okay, Nico?" Nozomi called out from the end of the monkey bars. Her face was worrisome.

"Y-yeah, I'm..." Nico reached her hand out for the next one and the hand holding her up gave out, "Ahh!" Nico came crashing to the ground and landed on her butt. She held her hands in pain and Nozomi rushed over immediately.

"Let me see!" She grabbed Nico's hands and looked at them, they were blistered and looked like they would bleed if anything else were to happen.

"This isn't good, I forfeit," Nozomi said.

"What? No, you have to go on the monkey bars too!" Nico protested.

Nozomi slid her arms underneath Nico and lifted her up into a princess carry.

"H-Hey! I didn't win you idiot," Nico thrashed around but Nozomi kept a hold of her.

"Stop, Nico!" Nozomi yelled, "I already hurt you enough today."

Nico stopped thrashing around and looked away, "...You didn't hurt me."

Nozomi held Nico tighter.

"I carried those groceries because of you, I didn't want you to do any labor because of what happened. If I have to give up something, then I don't mind," Nico held out her hands, "This is nothing compared to what you're going through..."

Nozomi's grip tightened, "What makes you think I'm okay with you hurting yourself for me?"

Nico didn't know what to say other than, "I'm sorry..."

Nozomi walked over to the bench with their stuff and set Nico down. She handed the clothing bags to Nico and picked up the groceries.

"N-Nozomi, are you sure?" Nico was still worried.

Nozomi ignored Nico's words and proceeded to princess carry her again.

"Hey wait! Isn't this too much?" Nico started to panic.

"It's... all good..." Nozomi struggled to get her words out.

"You idiot! Look at your legs, they're shaking! Let me off," Nico protested. "The clothes aren't even heavy and I can walk anyways."

"You won the bet... so..." Nozomi tried to reason with Nico.

"We can do it a different time when we don't have other things to carry," Nico beckoned.

Nozomi took a few steps before finally letting Nico down, "I give up."

"Good!" Nico fixed herself and stood straight, "Now let's go back home... and hand me some of the groceries."

Nozomi handed over some of the bags and the two of them made their way back home.

* * *

Umi stepped out of the police department and scratched her head, "Which way was it to Kotori's workplace again?" She began pacing herself to help jog her memory. It was vague but she did remember that Kotori had to take a train there every morning. She could always call Kotori, but since she was probably working, Umi didn't want to bother her.

Umi made her way back to the shopping district. The train station there was the one that Kotori had taken to work everyday. It was around 4pm now and most people should be getting off of work or at least getting ready to leave. The shopping district was filled with numerous amounts of people at this time.

It can get a little crowded but for the most part, Umi had an easy time navigating through the crowd. She spotted a red haired street performer packing up what seemed to be a keyboard. She remembered catching a glimpse of her earlier today after she ran into Nozomi.

"Hey, Maki!" Umi heard a voice call out. She watched the red haired girl turn her head after hearing her name. Umi followed Maki's gaze and spotted another girl with orange hair.

"I'm sorry I'm late," the orange haired girl embraced Maki and gave her a small peck on the lips.

"It's no big deal, let's leave," Maki insisted.

The orange haired girl nodded and the two left the scene.

Umi continued to make her way through the crowd and into the train station. Maybe if she was lucky, she could catch Kotori coming out of one of the trains. It would make sense, but since Kotori got a promotion, Umi wasn't sure if her schedule had changed.

Umi took a seat at a nearby bench and waited until the rush hour subsided. She searched the crowd with vacant eyes for any hint of ash color. Unfortunately there was no sign of Kotori around. Umi gave up and decided to call her.

"Hello?"

"Hey Kotori, it's me."

"Umi? It's rare for you to call."

"I know, I need a favor."

"What is it?"

"Can you meet me in the shopping district? I'll buy you a coffee."

"Umm, sure. I'm on my way home on the train now."

"Okay, I'll wait for you at the station then, bye."

"See you soon."

Umi hung up the phone and waited for the next train to arrive. An hour passed and a new train had come in, she waited and watched as crowds of people populated the station. Again she kept her eyes open for any ash colored hair. She felt a tap on her shoulder and turned around.

"Hey Detective~" Kotori did a playful salute and winked again.

"Hi Kotori," Umi stood up.

"So what is this favor?" Kotori asked.

"Follow me," Umi turned around and headed for the train station's exit. Kotori followed closely behind and checked her wristwatch.

"Hey Umi? Can you make this quick? I have to get home before Honoka worries," Kotori asked.

"It'll only take a few minutes," Umi opened a door to a cafe and let Kotori in first. The two made their way to the counter and ordered drinks. Kotori got a caramel mocha frap while Umi just went with black coffee. They took a seat at a table once their drinks were finished.

"Okay down to business," Umi started. "It's going to be a little tough, but it's about what happened a few years ago with your family."

Kotori's mood sunk and she set down the drink that she was joyfully consuming just a moment ago. "What about it...?"

"The case I'm working on is... It's basically the same thing that happened to you," Umi continued.

"Oh gosh, that's terrible..." Kotori responded.

"And you remember Hanayo, right?"

Kotori nodded her head, "Your partner?"

"Former partner," Umi corrected.

"Oh I'm sorry..." Kotori apologized quickly after remembering what had happened to Hanayo.

"Anyways, she gave me some suspects and leads for the case and I need your help," Umi took a sip out of her coffee before continuing, "Do you know anything that could help us find the killer?"

Kotori shook her head, "No, everything I've known about it has been the same all these years."

Umi sighed and rubbed her temples, "Hanayo wanted me to ask you something important too."

Kotori tilted her head, "What is it?"

"There is a possibility that this could be a copycat case and given our small list of suspects, you are one of them," Umi said.

Kotori's jaw dropped, "Me? A suspect?! Why? I was the victim!"

Umi reached her hand out to calm Kotori but it was slapped away.

"How can they suspect me? I did nothing wrong!" Kotori's voice raised and caught the attention of the other customers.

Umi got up and knelt by Kotori. She put her hands on Kotori's shoulders and looked into her eyes, "Calm down Kotori, let me explain..."

Kotori wanted to say something back, but was able to keep it in.

"I don't think you're guilty, but the reason they suspect you is because of what you went through. The trauma that you suffered could cause you to react violently and maybe become a copycat killer." Umi tried her best to explain it.

"But you know I wouldn't do something like that, Umi," Kotori looked back into Umi's eyes.

"I know..." Umi replied.

"I mean, we lived together for a year and you would have known if something was wrong with me, right?" Kotori asked.

Umi nodded and got back in her seat.

"I'm sorry I lashed out like that..." Kotori looked down.

Umi reached out for Kotori's hand and massaged it gently to comfort her, "It's okay..."

Kotori blushed at Umi's gesture, "You always did know how to comfort me..."

Umi cleared her throat and let go quickly. Her body reacted naturally to Kotori and she wasn't aware of what she was doing.

"That's all I needed from you today," Umi changed the subject.

Kotori looked surprised, "We're done already?"

"You have to make it back home to your fiancé don't you?" Umi stared back in question.

"O-oh! Yeah that's right, I totally forgot," Kotori scrambled for her belongings and grabbed her drink. "Thank you for the treat, Umi. And I'm sorry that I wasn't of much help."

Kotori rushed out of the cafe and left Umi alone in her seat.

She spent the rest of the hour in the cafe thinking about what to do next. There were no leads and the only other survivor of Case A.M. was out of the country. She could try to track down the other suspects that Hanayo had listed. However, none of them showed any sort of connection to the case.

Umi got up and left the cafe after calling it a day. She arrived home shortly and opened her front door, there was a letter on the floor. She picked it up and closed her door. She set down her belongings on the table and took off her jacket before grabbing her letter opener.

On the front of the letter it wrote, "Detective" there was no return address nor any other name on it. She inserted the letter opener and cut it open, inside was a small piece of paper. Despite it's size, the paper was of great quality and thickness compared to regular paper. It gave off a scent of something sweet like chocolate.

She inspected the paper and flipped it over, on it was a short note that read,

 _"My, My, the Mouse has been set free,_

 _Oh wise Hunter..._

 _The game of Cat and Mouse has begun._

 _See if you can stop this hunt,_

 _Before the Mouse is gone."_

"What is this? A poem?" Umi set the piece of paper down, "Why would someone send me this?"

A thought raced through Umi's mind and she reached for her cell phone. She quickly dialed Hanayo's number and waited for a response. It took a few rings for the phone to pick up, "Detective? What do you want?"

"I might have a clue, Hanayo," Umi held up the piece of paper.

"A clue?" She questioned.

"I need you to look up this poem first," Umi demanded and repeated the lines. She heard Hanayo typing away on her keyboard and waited for a response.

"Nothing in the database checks out," Hanayo responded.

"Are you still in your office?" Umi got up and started putting on her jacket.

"Yeah I am, why?"

"I'm heading over there now, you need to see it in person," Umi hung up her phone and quickly left her house. She got in her car and drove to the station to save time. She rushed past the front desk and knocked on Hanayo's door. This time she didn't wait for Hanayo's voice to walk in.

"You're supposed to wait for me to answer," Hanayo turned around to face Umi and complained, "Hurry up and show me already."

Umi handed Hanayo the small piece of paper and she analyzed it, "It has some sort of sugary smell, maybe chocolate?"

"That's not important, I need you to analyze this note," Umi demanded.

"Well you're going to have to give me some time to do everything," Hanayo protested.

"How long will it take?" Umi wanted Hanayo to finish quickly.

"I don't know, a few days?" Hanayo threw out a half hearted answer.

"We don't have a few days, I need that information now," Umi looked into Hanayo's eyes.

"... Fine, just stop doing the eye thing," Hanayo turned away and started analyzing the note.

"Eye thing?" Umi questioned.

"You have a tendency to stare into people's eyes when you need something, your eyes are what get people to do it," Hanayo spoke while focusing on the note.

Umi was confused, "What's wrong with my eyes?"

"Have you looked in the mirror lately? They're a lot different from how they used to be," Hanayo explained.

"I didn't even notice..." Umi sat down and kept quiet while Hanayo did her work.

She first analyzed the paper, it was of high quality and just like any other official document, it was watermarked. Hanayo typed the name of the company that printed the paper into her computer and it came up with a surprising result.

"Hmm the paper isn't produced here in Japan, it was either imported or printed somewhere else. It seems to be of very high quality, very expensive too," Hanayo read out loud.

She then analyzed the ink that was used, "Looks like the ink is a unique blend, it isn't sold anywhere."

She moved on to analyze the writing. With today's technology, there are ways to match handwriting to certain individuals. It is still in the developing stage, but it should narrow down to a list of potential suspects. Hanayo scanned the piece of paper into her computer and launched a program. It then ran an analysis and it came up with 5 potential matches.

"Are one of those people our culprit?" Umi got up and walked over to Hanayo.

Hanayo looked up at Umi, "That seems likely, the handwriting is a close match to all of them," she printed out a sheet of paper with numerous amounts of personal information.

Hanayo handed Umi the sheet, "Here is everything we have on the individuals."

Umi nodded and grabbed it from her hands. She read the information and sighed, the suspects were spread out across the entire town and it would take an entire day to reach them all. She decided to go home and get a fresh start on it tomorrow.

* * *

Umi woke up early the next day and was already on the hunt for the culprit. There were 5 total suspects and Umi made a travel plan to get to each one in the shortest amount of time. It would take her the majority of the day but as long as she captures the culprit, she didn't care.

The first suspect was a man in his 50s, he lived a little bit out of town so that is why Umi visited him first. He was a very feeble looking man and he was being taken care of by his children. Umi eliminated him from the suspects list after she talked with the family. Apparently the father wouldn't have been able to make it into town because of his health and the children were too busy taking care of him.

Umi traveled to the next suspect's home which was a little closer to the center of the town. This man must have been in his 20s and he seemed to be living the bachelor's life. Umi had interrupted him in the middle of an awkward moment with a girl he had met the other night. The girl was his alibi because they met in the club on the night of the murder and didn't return home until 4am.

She moved on to the next suspect's location and arrived just outside the shopping district. The man here seemed to be in his 30s and was an average salaryman. Umi questioned him for some time, but it felt like the man was focused on something else. He was most likely interested in Umi, but she shot down any advances that he could make. It turns out that the man wasn't familiar with the paper that was used and he was at a bar passed out drunk on the night of the murder.

Umi didn't fully believe him when she left the small apartment. The bar that he reported going to was located in the shopping district so she knew where she would head next. She made her way to the shopping district, it was a Saturday and families were out and about at this time. There were also scaffoldings and construction going on in the courtyard in preparation for Tanabata.

"It's almost July 7th, huh?" Umi whispered to herself.

She weaved her way through the crowd and avoided running into any people. She spotted the bar and made a dash for it. When she opened the front door a bell rang and the bartender looked at her. She was maybe in her late 30s or early 40s, she bowed and yelled, "Welcome to the Homura Bar!"

Umi nodded and looked around, the bar was dimly lit and it was a little difficult to spot out how many people were in here. She made her way to a bar stool and sat in front of the woman.

"What can I get you, ma'am?" the woman asked.

"A glass of red wine," Umi replied.

"A little early to be drinking, don't you think?" The woman suggested.

"It's going to be a long day," Umi said back.

The woman nodded and pulled out a wine glass and a bottle of red wine. She poured the wine gracefully into the cup and slid it over to Umi.

"I have a few questions for you, miss," Umi said as she picked up the wine glass.

"What is it?"

"Two nights ago, do you remember a man around his 30s in a business suit that was here?" Umi asked.

The woman brought up her hand to think, "Hmm... I'm not sure, we get a lot of those kind around here."

"He was here late that night and was passed out drunk, does it ring any bells?" Umi continued.

"Hmm... Now that you mention it, there was a gentleman who we had a difficult time getting out of the bar," she answered.

Umi pulled out a picture and presented it to the woman, "Was it this man?"

The woman nodded, "Yeah that is definitely him."

"Thank you for your time then," Umi left some money and headed for the exit.

"Wait, you forgot your drink," the woman called out.

"I don't drink, you can have it," Umi responded as she left through the doorway. The woman shrugged and took the wine for herself.

Umi walked down the steps and pulled out the sheet of paper she got last night from Hanayo. She crossed off the third suspect and read up on the next two. The 4th suspect was located near Kotori's workplace while the 5th one was on the other side of town. She focused on the paper as she walked.

Umi felt something crash into her and it knocked her onto the ground. She rubbed her head and looked up to see a small boy on top of her.

"Geez Kotarou, stop running around, you'll get people hurt!" two teenage girls ran over. One picked up the boy and the other helped Umi up.

"We're so sorry about our little brother, our family hasn't been out together for a while so he's excited," the girls apologized. Umi held up her hands and tried to reassure them that she was fine. She wasn't mad in the slightest bit.

"Kokoro, Kokoa? Where are you?" A voice called out.

"We're over here with Kotarou!" They yelled back.

Umi looked up to see a family walk around the corner. Her eyes widened a little when she saw them. Nozomi was with the family and she waved to Umi with a smile, "Good morning, Detective."

Umi waved back.

"Do you know her?" Nico asked.

Nozomi nodded, "Mhmm, she's the detective in charge of my case."

"Is this the friend you said you were staying with?" Umi asked.

"Yeah, let me introduce them, this is the Yazawa family and Nico here is my best friend," Nozomi swung her arm around Nico's shoulders and pulled her in.

"Ahh! Nozomi stop! I can't breathe when you do that," she pried herself out of Nozomi's grip and straightened herself out.

Umi felt a tug on her pants and looked down to see Kotarou, "Onee-chan, who are you?"

Umi knelt down to match Kotarou's level, "I'm a friend of Nozomi and I catch bad guys."

"Like in the animes?" He replied.

Umi nodded her head, "Just like the animes," she stood up and looked at Nozomi and Nico, "I should get going now."

"Wait, Detective!" Nozomi made her way towards Umi.

She stopped walking when Nozomi called out and turned around.

"Won't you join us for lunch? We're having dim sum at a chinese restaurant," Nozomi asked.

"I would love to but I'm bu-" Umi felt a tug on her pants again.

"Come with us Onee-chan," Kotarou beckoned.

"She can come eat with us, right Nico?" Nozomi turned around to ask. Nico hesitated for a second.

"We don't exactly have the money to, Nozomi," Nico replied.

Nozomi pulled out her own wallet, "I can pay for her."

Nico's expression became worried, "Are you sure, Nozomi?"

Nozomi nodded and turned back to face Umi, "As long as you will come, Detective."

Umi thought about it in her head. She did say that she would join Nozomi the next time that she asked. But she was busy at the moment. She pulled out her phone to check the time, it was already 12pm.

"I guess I could fit in a lunch..." Umi mumbled.

"Great! Follow us," Nozomi grabbed Umi's hand and walked alongside the family.

Nico whispered over to Nozomi, "Hey Nozomi, aren't her eyes kind of weird?"

Nozomi whispered back, "Yeah, they are. I don't know anything about it though..."

The group made their way to a chinese restaurant where they were seated around a circular table. Nozomi took a seat in between Umi and Nico while the rest of Nico's family sat with each other.

"Have you ever had dim sum before, Detective?" Nozomi asked.

"Yeah, I've had it a few times," Umi replied.

"What's your favorite? I really like the pork dumplings."

"I actually like those too."

"Really? They're great aren't they? Nico here doesn't really like them, she prefers the shrimp dumplings," Nozomi pointed her thumb at Nico.

"Shut up, Nozomi!" Nico wasn't liking how Nozomi was embarrassing her in front of a stranger.

The waiters started making their rounds and the group would constantly grab things from their carts. Umi & Nozomi specifically got more pork dumplings as opposed to the other dishes.

Nozomi narrowed her eyes mischievously, "Hey Kotarou, why don't you try some chicken feet?"

"Eww no way Nozo-nee!" Kotarou retaliated.

"Kotarou! I told you to stop calling her that," Nico yelled at him.

"It's okay, Nico, I'm okay with it," Nozomi grabbed a chicken foot with her chopsticks and plopped it on Kotarou's plate. "If you eat it, I'll get you something from the gatchapon~"

"Really? Okay then!" Kotarou began eating the chicken foot.

"Be careful not to swallow any bones, Kotarou," Nico's mother warned. He made a sour face as he ate the food and it made Nozomi laugh. Her laughter caused the rest of the family to laugh alongside of her.

"I wonder how she's recovered so quickly..." Umi thought to herself. Umi reached over to the last pork dumpling and her chopsticks collided with Nozomi's. She backed away immediately, "You can have the last one."

Nozomi shook her head, "No, it's fine you can have it."

"No, I insist since you're paying for me," Umi set down her chopsticks. Nozomi frowned and picked up the dumpling. Umi pulled out her phone to check the time, it was 1pm now and she really needed to get back to work soon. She yawned and leaned back against her chair.

"AN OPENING!" Nozomi yelled. She thrusted the pork dumpling into Umi's open mouth and removed her chopsticks quickly before she could bite down. Umi was caught off guard and she almost fell backwards on her chair.

She chewed on the dumpling until she could fully swallow it. She let out a gasp of air and chugged down some water before beating against her own chest.

"Are you okay, Detective?" Nozomi held Umi's shoulders and patted her back.

"Why would you do that?!" Umi yelled.

"I'm sorry... I really wanted you to have the last one..." Nozomi pouted.

Umi sighed, "It's okay... just feed me normally next time."

Nico's mom waved to a waiter for a check and paid for most of it. Nozomi threw in Umi's expenses and the group was out of the restaurant soon enough.

"Thank you for the meal," Umi bowed to the family, "Now if you'll excuse me, I must be getting back to work now."

The family wished her good luck and Umi made her way to the train station. The next suspect was close to Kotori's workplace so she decided to take the train. The trip would take an hour so she took a seat and went through her phone to pass the time.

* * *

The train came to a stop and it was now 2pm. If she was lucky, she would be able to get to the last suspect by 3 or 4. She checked the address on her cellphone and stepped out of the train. It was within walking distance and shouldn't take more than 30 minutes to reach.

The 4th suspect lives in a high rise apartment and has connections to certain underground organizations. Of course on the surface they seem like a normal businesswoman, but the information Hanayo had on them was more than the public could uncover.

The suspect's name was Toudou Erena, a member of one of the three families that governed underworld Japan. Her along with the Kira family and the Yuuki family control most of the systematic crime that happens within the city. Of course Umi and Hanayo were aware of their existence, but the families have been working carefully to avoiding doing illegal activities. They were carrying things out through business deals and pressuring smaller companies to give into theirs.

In the end, the current police force neither has the evidence or manpower to take down any one of the families.

Umi arrived at the highrise apartment and entered the lobby, "Hello, I need to speak with Toudou Erena."

The lobby attendant looked up, "May I ask what business you have with her?"

Umi pulled out her detective's badge, "I have a few questions to ask her."

The lobby attendant picked up the phone and dialed in a number, "Hello , you have a visitor."

Umi could hear some sort of talking from the phone's ear speaker.

"She's with the police department and wishes to ask you some questions," the lobby attendant listened closely to Erena's words before covering the microphone, "She asks for your name."

"Sonoda Umi," she replied.

The attendant repeated Umi's name and waited a few seconds before nodding. She placed the phone down and ended the call, "She will see you, take the elevator over there to floor 27 and she will be in room 3."

Umi nodded and thanked the attendant. She followed the attendants instructions and arrived in front of Erena's door. She knocked gently and the door was answered immediately by two large men.

"Stand down boys, unless you want a dislocated shoulder," a voice called out.

The two men stepped to the side and allowed Umi to walk in. She stepped past the guards and stood face to face with Erena.

"Well Detective, it's nice to see you," Erena opened her arms in a presenting manner. Umi spotted another girl sitting on the couch located behind Erena.

"As you can see, you've interrupted my date with Anju," she said bitterly.

"I have a few questions for you, Erena," Umi ignored Erena's tone.

"Right down the business already? That is just like you, Detective Sonoda," Erena joked around with Umi.

Umi had no time to play games, "Where were you two nights ago?"

"I was out at a business party with the Kira's and Yuuki's," Erena answered.

"How long were you out?" Umi continued.

"It must have been from 8pm to 2am, I believe," Erena answered again.

"Are you aware of the murder case that happened during the night of this party?" Umi brought up.

"I remember vaguely seeing it on the news after waking up with a hangover if that is what you mean," Erena scratched her head.

Umi thought to herself for a moment, "Are you interested in any poems?"

"Poems? I gave up sappy stuff like that long ago, Detective," Erena shot down Umi's suspicion even lower.

"Do you mind if I look around your apartment a bit?" Umi asked.

"As long as you don't break anything, Detective," Erena made her way back to the couch and took a seat next to Anju, "Now where were we?" the two girls proceeded to flirt with each other.

Umi paid them no mind and focused on looking for anything in Erena's apartment that would tie her to the case. Unfortunately, Umi couldn't find anything remotely related to the case during her search. She returned to the main living room to see Erena and Anju really going at it.

"I'm leaving now, thank you for your cooperation," Umi said as she passed the couple.

Erena was able to get her words out for a moment, "Good luck with the investigation, Detective."

Umi made eye contact with the bodyguards as she left through the door. Something didn't feel right about Erena, it felt too natural, too smooth of an encounter. She decided to shrug it off. No matter how she approached Erena, it always ended in the same way.

With 4 of the suspects crossed off of the list, only one remained. Umi had to make sure she was prepared for the possibility of this last suspect being the killer. She didn't bring her gun with her since she left it in her car, so she had to rely on her martial arts training that she received from her father many years ago.

The last suspect's home was located in the slums which was ironically next to the luxurious posh of the city. Umi didn't really have to walk too far, if she paced herself she could make it to the residence within an hour.

During her walk, she noticed how slowly the town began to change. The highrise buildings and bustling crowds slowly started to disappear and replace with smaller homes and very few pedestrians. The noise level had dropped drastically and became much more of a calm neighborhood rather than a busy city.

She arrived in front of the home after an hour had passed and it was now 4pm. The sun was still up since it was summer, so she had a good few hours of sunlight left. She observed the home, it was run down and looked like it hasn't been cared for in years.

She carefully stepped around the uncut lawn that grew over the path to the front door and knocked on it.

There was no response.

She knocked on the door harder this time and listened for a noise. There was still nothing.

She twisted the doorknob and it gently pushed open. Umi looked around before entering. The house was dark and it showed no signs of habitation. She reached into her jacket and pulled out a small flashlight.

She clicked the button on the back and lit herself a path. The place was very run down, holes in the ground, old clothes and books were thrown on the floor. There were old shoes near the front door and dust collected on the shelves.

Umi carefully made her way through the house, making sure to avoid the holes and items on the ground. She could hear white noise coming from inside the building, "A TV?"

She traced the sound with her ears, it was coming from upstairs. She made her way to the bottom of the staircase and took a step. The step broke under her weight, "Ahh! Damn it..."

Umi reached down and pulled her leg out of the hole. She continued up the stairs and made herself as light as she could. The sound of the white noise grew stronger with every step she took until she arrived in front of a door. It was slightly cracked open and she could see the light from the TV shining out.

Umi propped up against the wall in a breaching position. She readied herself and slammed her shoulder against the door. She stumbled into the room, it was empty but it showed signs of habitation by the amounts of trash on the floor. Umi kicked the trash around to clear a path.

She made her way to the TV and shut it off. She opened the curtains to let light in and looked outside, "There's no one here..."

Just as she spoke those words, a figured bursted out from the closet next to the door and made an escape. Umi's mind went into autopilot and she chased after the figure. If the person was running, it had to be the culprit. The suspect ran past the front door and slammed it shut in Umi's face. Umi couldn't stop her momentum and collided with the door, "Crap.." she pulled it open and rushed onto the street. She looked left then right and caught the glimpse of the shadowy figure run past a corner.

She pursued the suspect once again, they ran down an alleyway and Umi was able to make visual contact with the suspect. The suspect was quick, but sooner or later Umi will catch up as long as she stayed focused. The suspect led Umi around in a wild goose chase which eventually ended up in the city.

The suspect did not hesitate to run across busy roads and avoided any incoming traffic. Umi was surprised with how swiftly the suspect was able to move. However, because of her own amounts of training, she was able to keep up.

She caught the suspect running into a multi level parking lot and followed after them. She kept on their tail until they had reached the top, "You have... nowhere else to run," Umi was breathing hard from the chase. She approached the suspect slowly, "It's over, give yourself up," she inched closer towards the suspect's back.

Umi moved in close enough and placed a hand on their shoulder, "You have the right to remai-" the suspect suddenly shifted their body and punched Umi across her face, causing her to stumble back.

The suspect took the chance to escape and climbed over the railing. Umi shook her head to reassure herself and regained her focus. She watched as the suspect jumped off of the railing. She rushed over and looked down, the suspect landed safely on a rooftop and continued to run.

"You slippery little..." Umi took a few steps back and hopped the railing. The wind blew against her hair as she hurdled down towards the roof. She landed and rolled to avoid any serious injuries from the fall. She continued her pursuit after the suspect along the rooftops.

It seemed like the suspect had planned the escape route beforehand. That would explain why Umi hasn't caught them yet. But Umi wasn't even close to giving up yet, there was no way she would let the case end up like Case A.M.

Umi pushed herself to catch up, but since the escape route had been planned, Umi was at a disadvantage. She reached into her pocket and pulled out her phone, she speed dialed Hanayo, "Come on, pick up Hanayo..."

Umi kept her eyes on the target and continued pursuit.

"Detective? What is it? You sound out of breath."

"Hanayo! I'm chasing after a suspect who may be the culprit. Send backup immediately and use my phone as a tracker," Umi hung up her phone without waiting for a response and returned her full attention to the target.

She had been on his or her tail for an hour now and the sun was beginning to set, much earlier than Umi had anticipated. The suspect dragged Umi across the entire city and now they were headed towards a docking bay.

The docking bay was full of warehouses and if Umi wasn't careful, she could lose the target. She reached for her flashlight to help her see better and kept it fixed on the target's back. She followed the suspect into a dark and abandoned warehouse where she lost sight of them.

She shined her flashlight around but stayed by the entrance, it was the only exit and as long as she remained here or kept it closed, she would know that the suspect was still inside. Umi closed the warehouse door behind her and the building was covered in darkness except for the light that shined through the windows. Umi's flashlight also offered an advantage for her.

She carefully searched the warehouse for the suspect and kept her guard up, "Give yourself up!" Umi yelled.

She searched the entire area and found nobody, "Where the hell did they disappear to?"

Umi heard a swinging noise from behind her and ducked quickly. She turned around to face the suspect. They were hooded and the lighting of the warehouse kept their face from being shown. The suspect was holding a large lead pipe and was ready to put up a fight against Umi.

She readied herself and got into a judo stance. Her family had their own style of judo that was unrivaled in local tournaments. If she played her cards carefully, she could disarm and have the suspect down on the ground in one move.

The suspect swung and Umi stepped to the side. Another swing came and she ducked underneath it. She took this opportunity and grabbed the suspect's collar from a low position. She pivoted herself around and lifted the suspect over her shoulders and slammed them onto the ground.

The suspect let out a shriek of pain and dropped the lead pipe onto the ground. The sound of it echoed through the warehouse as Umi approached slowly. The suspect got up and pulled their hood back to reveal their identity. It was a man that looked much different from the one on Hanayo's info sheet.

He took up a boxing position and taunted Umi to attack. She stayed calm, she knew that her martial arts was a defensive one and she would lose easily if she were to go on the offensive. She didn't know the skill of the suspect either and whether or not he could hold himself in a fight.

She waited until the man attacked. He threw a straight punch which Umi dodged easily, he quickly followed up with his other fist and Umi blocked it on time.

He was fast.

Umi needed to be able to close the distance between them and get underneath his punches if she wanted to win. If she wasn't careful, she could end up knocked on her ass from an uppercut.

She waited for another opening to arise. The man threw a hook and Umi took a step inside of his arm. He brought up his other fist for an uppercut just as Umi had predicted and she blocked it by smashing her arm against his. The smash caused the man to stumble back and leave himself wide open.

Umi step in quick and grabbed his dominant arm, she shifted her weight and swung the man over she shoulder again. He came crashing down and she kept a hold on his arm this time. She twisted his arm back and used her knee to keep his head down.

She had him in a hold that would increase in pain if he struggled. Any sign of struggle from him signaled Umi to pull his arm farther back, "Stay still, I might break your arm on accident if you keep squirming around."

Umi used her free hand to dial Hanayo's number, "Hey, where's the backup I called?"

"They should be arriving now," Hanayo replied.

Umi heard sirens surround the warehouse and the doors opened up,

"You are under arrest."


End file.
